You made it to this page and that is the first step to finding help for yourself, a friend, or a loved one. Take a deep breath and remember, you are not alone!
Crisis and Mental Health Resources
For a quick and comprehensive of crisis lines and mental health resources view the Teen developed by the San Diego County Office of Education. On their website you can download the poster in English and Spanish.
988 SUICIDE & CRISIS LIFELINE | Call or text 988 | 988Lifeline.org
Open 24/7 and free of charge. If you or a friend are experiencing thoughts of suicide, 988 can support you in your immediate crisis, and connect you with follow-up resources.
Watch this video created by the Never a Bother youth suicide prevention media campaign to learn what happens when you connect with 988.
Teen Line | www.TeenLine.org
Speak with a trained teen listener who understands what it’s like to be a teen.
Call 1-800-852-8336 (6 PM–10 PM PT)
Text TEEN to 839863 (6 PM–9 PM PT)
Talk about anything — a rough day, school, relationships, friendships, family issues, or a mental health crisis. After hours, you’ll be redirected to 988. Check out this behind-the-scenes video to learn what happens when you connect with Teen Line.
At the beginning of your call, you’ll be asked some questions about yourself. Remember, answering these questions is optional.
Crisis Text Line | Text HOPE to 741-741
Connect with a crisis counselor 24/7 to receive high quality text-based mental health support and crisis intervention.
The Trevor Lifeline | 866-488-7386
The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing 24/7 crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people ages 13-24.
Trans Lifeline | 877-565-8860
A 24/7 lifeline run by and for trans people, providing direct emotional and financial support to trans people in crisis
Soluna App | www.solunaapp.com
Built for 13- to 25-year-olds in California, Soluna lets you chat 1 on 1 with professional coaches. Plus: free-writing journals, de-stressing tools, and forums where you can get and give advice (or vent). Free and confidential.
Resources for Schools and Organizations
Before proceeding with implementing one of our contests, curriculums, or any suicide prevention activity in your school, be sure to review the protocol, procedures and referral pathways in place at your district, school or organization for addressing the needs of students who are in an emotional crisis. Here are a few helpful resources:
Suicide Prevention: A Toolkit for Schools: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration created this publication to assist high schools and school districts in designing and implementing strategies to prevent suicide and promote behavioral health. It includes tools to implement a multi-faceted suicide prevention program that responds to the needs and cultures of students.
After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools: This newly revised resource (2018) provides information for school administrators and other school staff who wish to implement a coordinated response to the suicide. The toolkit provides information on how best to communicate and support the school community and manage the crisis response. Also found in the toolkit is information on helping students cope, communicating with parents, working with the community, and engaging external resources for support.
K-12 Toolkit for Mental Health Promotion & Suicide Prevention: This toolkit has drawn on evidence based national and state youth suicide prevention guidelines, including those issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC), the University of South Florida (USF), and the states of California and Maine, among others.
Policy to Practice Intervention Toolkit: The aim of this toolkit is to share protocols, templates and resources that align with best practices in suicide intervention.
Youth Creating Change offers a variety of suicide prevention, intervention and postvention trainings.
Support After a Youth Suicide
We are sorry you have lost a youth, student or staff to suicide. Take a deep breath, you got this. You are not alone. Please contact us for support with staff, parent, and student debriefings, as well as coordination and linkages with local partners for short term and long-term support.
- After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools: This newly revised resource (2018) provides information for school administrators and other school staff who wish to implement a coordinated response to the suicide. The toolkit provides information on how best to communicate and support the school community and manage the crisis response. Also found in the toolkit is information on helping students cope, communicating with parents, working with the community, and engaging external resources for support. Download here.
- Postvention: A Guide For Response to Suicide on College Campuses: The Higher Education Mental Health Alliance (HEMHA), a partnership of organizations dedicated to providing leadership to advance college mental health, created this guide as an answer to the imperative need for strategies to help colleges and universities effectively and sensitively respond to campus deaths, should they occur. Download here.
Resources for Parents
Visit our Parent Engagement page to learn about suicide prevention, to download printable and digital resources, and to view films and art created by young people about what they wish their parents (and other adults) knew about mental health and how to support youth in their care.
Printable and Digital Resources
Visit our Education and Awareness page to download printable and digital resources, including youth-produced PSAs, social media posts, infographics, toolkits for Mental Health Awareness Month and Suicide Prevention Week, and more.
The Mental Health Thrival Kit can be used to celebrate wellness and promote positive coping skills for youth with easy-to-follow activities to enhance skills for social emotional wellness. The digital kit includes journaling prompts to promote reflection and self-expression, breathing and grounding techniques, coloring pages, as well as mental health and crisis resources. Kits are currently available in English and Spanish, as well as for Korean American youth and Filipino American youth.